Florida conducted a rare double execution day, with former police officer James Duckett and double-killer Dominick Occhicone put to death within hours of one another.
Execution of James Duckett
James Aren Duckett was executed by lethal injection at midday local time, almost 40 years after he sexually assaulted and murdered 11-year-old Teresa McAbee in 1987 while serving as a law enforcement officer in central Florida. The 68-year-old former officer was pronounced dead following two injections at Florida State Prison. When asked for a final statement, he refused and replied "no sir." Four minutes later, a prison warden nudged him and called his name, but Duckett remained unresponsive. His execution made him the 11th prisoner put to death by Florida in 2026.
Execution of Dominick Occhicone
Hours later, Florida executed 80-year-old Dominick Occhicone at the same facility for the 1986 double murder of Raymond and Martha Artzner, parents of his former girlfriend, Anita Gerrety. On June 10, 1986, Occhicone arrived at the Artzner home hoping to restart their romance after Anita ended the relationship due to his temper and mistreatment of her children. He left after Anita threatened to call the sheriff, but returned about an hour later. When Raymond Artzner tried to call the sheriff, prosecutors alleged the phone cable had been cut. Occhicone then shot Raymond in the face, broke through a locked door, and pursued Anita through the house. Anita escaped with her daughter, but heard gunshots. Her mother, Martha, was found dead with five gunshot wounds, four to the chest. Raymond died in hospital after naming his shooter. Occhicone did not deny the evidence but argued the shootings were not premeditated. He was convicted and spent decades on death row. His execution made him the oldest person executed in modern Florida history and the second-oldest in the US, after Walter Moody, executed at age 83 in 2018.
Florida's execution schedule
Florida's double execution day marked the state's first since 1964, when Blake Emmett and Dawson Sie were electrocuted. The last double execution in the US was in Arkansas in 2017. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has turned Florida's death chamber into America's most active as his final term ends, arguing that many families have waited too long for justice. Capital punishment had been declining nationally for over two decades, but the number has risen again due to Florida's accelerated schedule. Since 2025, Florida has conducted nearly half of all state executions across the US.
